


Restless

by TheEveOfLilith



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 16:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18449891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEveOfLilith/pseuds/TheEveOfLilith
Summary: For Peeta Melark, tonight is another sleepless night in the arena.For Finnick it's the same.Will they find comfort in each other?





	Restless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blur_Vision](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blur_Vision/gifts).



> A short story written for my BFF. It's age-old but I hope you enjoy it anyway :)

When he woke up, the sky in the arena was still pitch dark. He was lying flat on his aching back, forcing his breathing to stay controlled, as he was slowly getting over the shock of waking beneath the starless sky. Again.

He fought his desperate tears, which were trying their best to flood his eyes. He didn’t want to cry. It was cowardly and useless, and more importantly, as his dry mouth reminded him, water was far too precious in here just to cry it out. He carefully steadied his breathing and made the tears dissolve into a distant throbbing behind his eyes.

This was just a real “dream come true”. Being here once more. Feeling the now warmed steel of a dagger tied up to his thigh. Feeling his arms get tense, just to find them shaking a few moments later. And then there was _her_. The stand-offish girl with long ebony hair and careworn face, who was now sleeping restlessly, leaning her back on a tall tree. Even though she was unconscious, she clasped her bow in her hand as if her life depended on it. She’s always been a smart girl.

He sighed and quickly averted his eyes. He loved her since he could remember. And now he had to watch her putting up an act she loved him back. “The star-crossed lovers”. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

_It hurt too much to bear it._

This was not a good dream at all.

He made up his mind to sit up. He had no chance of taking another nap again. His heart was beating too fast and his brain was too overwhelmed with all the rushing thoughts about yesterday. He bolstered up on his elbows just to realize he had chosen a wrong place to sleep at. A thick root of a nearby tree dug painfully into his right hip all night and the sore place was now sending painful cramps into his whole body. He clenched his teeth and somehow managed to straighten himself up to a sitting position.

His back hurt as hell. He even heard a few ominous creaks in his spine, as he tried to steady himself. His muscles were tense and sore. Whether it was caused by the horrible bedding or yesterday’s half minute death he didn’t know.

Come to think of it, yesterday seemed like a horror to him. Too bad for it to be real. Yet it was, of course.

He was thrown into the arena.

Again.

To kill.

Again.

With Katniss.

_Again_.

But this time, at least, it was his choice.

_He had to keep her alive_.

Yet ‘till now it seemed it was the opposite way around. Everyone was freaking saving _him_. Even old Mags was less trouble than him. He looked at the fragile shadow of her sleeping body. The woman was probably the eldest person he had ever seen face to face. In Twelve there weren’t many people who celebrated fiftieth birthday. And Mags must have been at least ten years older than that. Still, she was kind and gentle - both in her looks and personality. And Finnick, obviously, had a soft spot for her.

Talking about Finnick, Peeta couldn’t catch a sight of him anywhere. Shouldn’t he be on his watch by now? He overcame the throbbing in his wounded back and stood up. The forest was deadly quiet. It gave him a sinister feeling that the Game-makers are up to something. Finnick could be a bigger danger right now though. Or he could be the one _in_ danger. He believed in Haymitch, and the bracelet he gave Finnick was an obvious sign that the man is trustworthy. Either way, Peeta had to look for him. He stood straight, furrowing his brows a bit in utter concentration, looking around making up his mind about where to start searching him.

And there he was. Or at least Peeta thought - _hoped_ \- it was Finnick. There was a tall stature leaning on a tree stem on a far dark side of their hastily built camp. Somebody was there, and that somebody definitely wasn’t asleep. Peeta noticed his hands were working on something. He decided to go there and check on him. He still wasn’t sure it was Finnick after all, though he had no idea how they all could be alive if it wasn’t.

As he came closer, his expectation turned out to be true. The stature, hidden in the shadows, was Finnick’s indeed. In his hands he held a little wooden doll and a knife. Peeta noticed the doll was hand-crafted, apparently by Finnick himself on this very night.

“Trying not to fall asleep?” Peeta asked to make his presence clear.

“Nah.” Finnick answered without even looking up. “You’re not the only one who’s having a sleepless night. I don’t mind though. It’s my watch actually.” The doll disappeared in Finnick's backpack and the man looked at Peeta finally. “You wanted to talk about something?” A playful spark in Finnick's glowing eyes reminded Peeta of the situation of yesterday’s afternoon. He was hit by a force field and lost consciousness. Finnick was the one who woke him up again. According to Katniss’s babbling after his awakening, his heart stopped. And Finnick saved him by kissing him on his lips!

Ew.

Yet now the thought made his cheeks flush lightly.

He wanted to know. If he just could avoid asking. His lips released a deep sigh. It was a bit alarming, not knowing what has been done to him, while he was lying on the ground unconscious. Finally, he made up his mind to ask and slowly started to form his words.

“Can I ask you a real weird question?” Finnick’s brows furrowed a bit.

“Yeah?” Finnick asked tentatively.

“Uhm… you know… yesterday… when I was hit by the energetic field…” Peeta started nervously, averting his eyes and feeling blood rushing to his head.

“Yeah?” A smile started to form on the man’s face knowingly.

“Finnick, you… you gave me a kiss?” Peeta’s cheeks were flushed crimson by then. Finnick’s smile shamelessly widened into a bold grin.

“What? You want another one? Ask your wife for it.”

_Sure_ , Peeta thought bitterly, _but only when the cameras are on._

“Has someone already told you you’re an ass?” He spat out, still flushing a little bit.

“Worrying ‘bout your little marriage, then?” That one hurt. Peeta shook his head.

“Katniss has nothing to do with this.”

“So, what’s it then? You don’t seem to me like the type of person who gives a shit ‘bout what the Capitol people think of you.” Finnick asked with anticipation.

“Curiosity.” Peeta shrugged. Finnick carefully considered his answer. Then a quiet sigh left his lips along with the desired answer.

“Nah, that was no kiss.” Finnick finally replied. Peeta sighed with relief. The man’s answer captured his curiosity though. _Something_ definitely _happened_.

“Then tell me. Tell me _what_ it _was_.” Peeta dared expectantly in reaction to Finnick’s evasive answer.

“A little bit too curious, aren’t we?” Finnick chuckled, as he was slowly getting up to his feet.

“It was no kiss, as far as you were concerned. I will be glad to give you one for the trouble though.” Not waiting for Peeta’s answer, Finnick leaned to him, grabbed his face and his indecent lips stole Peeta’s in one hot rush of a kiss.

When the younger man was released, it took a few long seconds before he put himself together enough to be able to speak.

“What the hell?” He burst out then. “I thought you said… You love Annie! And I’m a boy! What the hell! How could you -”

“Shut up, will you? Or you want to invite the others to a feast?” Finnick spat out, referring to the other former victors. He moved his face back after that and leaned on the tree. “And you are a boy indeed. A little naïve cry-baby babbling about love. There ain’t no love in this shitty world. I thought you knew that already.” Finnick turned away and sunk his hand in the backpack to get the little doll again. “Now I see I was wrong.” Peeta stood there, quiet, ashamed and yet boiling with fury. As if he didn’t know this shit all time long. As if he wasn’t already concerned. He jumped on his legs.

“You know nothing, Finnick Odair.” For a second, Finnick sat there, fair and stock-still. Then he looked up at him threateningly and stood up again. He was a good couple of inches taller than Peeta. It got the smaller one a bit nervous.

It’s still Hunger Games. Got a bit distracted, eh.

“Then _tell_ me.” Finnick grunted, hands on his hips. They were gazing in each other’s eyes, until Peeta averted his look. Finally, he breathed in shakily.

“It’s her.” Peeta’s voice broke. He’d like to slap himself hard for that. Now he looks like a sissy. Like that’s gonna get him any sponsors.

“What? Trouble in your little heaven?” Finnick snickered. Peeta clenched his fists, trying his best to make his forming tears stay behind the eyelashes.

Capitol does not need to hear this, though it would be no breaking news. Apparently, the only people convinced by the silly “romance” thing were the Capitol residents. Snow was not satisfied with that, which is why they were sent back to the arena along with the other former victors. Now the Capitol could hurt him no more. …Screw the Capitol!

“There is no heaven. Not for me and Katniss.”

 A fleeting moment of silence filled the tense air. Tears were soundlessly caressing Peeta’s cheeks. Finnick's face was stiff and expressionless.

“She doesn’t give a shit about me, okay? It’s all just an act for the cameras.” His tears were now hastily dropping from his jaw line, unconcealed. He took a deep breath in, but the voice, which came out a few moments later, was nothing but a broken whisper. “It’s tearing me apart!”

He was standing there like a straw man, miserable and pathetic, a parody of a human being. He couldn’t decide which was worse - to be seen like this by all the people in Panem live, or to have Finnick witness this foolish breakdown face to face. He was pretty sure he made a perfect target right now. Just take a dagger and stick it through his heart. Yet he suddenly felt a warm hand resting on his shoulder. He twitched in surprise, rising his chin up and drowning in exquisite green eyes at once. The firm hand suddenly started to move; it caressed his neck delicately, and then continued up, where it tangled in the hair on the back of his head. It felt quite relaxing. Peeta’s body was slowly letting go of the tension, when with a swift move the hair was painfully captured in a fist.

“You are weeping here like a little baby,” Finnick spat out, his voice full of disgust. “babbling and meddling about your pathetic unrequited love.”

Peeta breathed in hastily. Here it comes. Finnick betrays him. Finnick _kills_ him. But before he could think of fighting back, Finnick's lips started to roughly devour his mouth once more. He squirmed and fought, his eyes wide in terror, but it was no use against his opponent’s giant muscular arms. After a few torturing moments, they finally let go.

“So, tell me, you love expert, _what was this_?” Finnick hissed, as Peeta tried hard to catch his breath, face pale, considering Finnick's words.

“I know what it was _not_.” He spat out finally. Finnick hummed lasciviously as his fingers danced on Peeta’s jaw line.

“Yet your cheeks are flushed, and your heart is beating so loud I can _hear_ it.” Peeta clenched his teeth, but another kiss loosened his jaw again. He used all his strength to avert his head.

“Why are you fighting me?!” Finnick hissed, annoyed.

“’Cause I don’t feel about you like this!” Peeta hissed back. Finnick snickered.

“I don’t love you too if that’s what you wanna hear.” Peeta clenched his teeth, pissed.

“Then why? Why do you keep messing around with me?!” Peeta’s face overflowed with incomprehension.

“You still don’t get it, boy?” Peeta furrowed his eyebrows on the name-calling, building a witty response in his head, when he felt the man’s lips caressing his ear.

“I wanna help you _forget_.” Peeta yelped, startled, taking a quick tense breath in. His voice was shaking, when his lips formed a grouchy response.

“Say it aloud, that above all you want to relieve _yourself_ , you moron.” Finnick’s chuckle was pulsating in Peeta’s chest through their sudden closeness. His heart rate was rising menacingly as he heard the other’s seductive whisper.

“ _Don’t_ resist.” A shiver ran down Peeta’s spine as hot breath tickled his ear lobe. He felt Finnick's hand diminishing on right side of his body. Finnick was right. There was no need to mourn. No _time_ for it, more precisely. And his love towards her couldn’t be changed by _anything_ in this world. Not by _this_ anyway.

He breathed in to calm his nerves and leaned to the touch. Their closeness made him able to keep track of every little movement the other man did. How his wet lips parted slightly. How his eyelashes dazzled in an unnatural murky light. How his back crouched to steal yet another kiss from his aggrieved lips. He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and tentatively tilted his head back, to face the taller man’s face better.

There was a subtle warning in form of a hot steam of breath tickling his nose.

“Perfect.”

And that was the last word he heard before his lips finally gave in. 


End file.
